Quote:It all started in January 2013, when police came to Watson’s home responding to a 911 call.

“‘Oh my gosh, someone is in the backyard,’” Watson recalled his wife saying.

He grabbed his legal handgun and went to his back door.

“I announced myself, ‘Who is that? Who is that? I have a gun,’” he told WAVY. “And as soon as I said that, two red laser beams were on my chest. So I looked at the red laser beams on my chest, and I fired a warning shot.”

That warning shot didn’t hit anyone, WAVY reported, but it earned him a misdemeanor charge of reckless firearm use.

RugerGirl;151043 Wrote:Sounds like he was very lucky.....he had two beads on him and lived through firing a warning shot. Good cops, actually. They could have easily killed him and said he was threatening them with a gun.

RugerGirl;151043 Wrote:Sounds like he was very lucky.....he had two beads on him and lived through firing a warning shot. Good cops, actually. They could have easily killed him and said he was threatening them with a gun.

RugerGirl;151046 Wrote:Since the cops held their fire, I don't think he should sue.....but the charges were correctly dropped.

You'd maybe feel differently if you were the one out of pocket for thousands and thousands of dollars to pay for a lawyer, had a bunch of time off work (or lost a job), and dozens, if not hundreds of sleepless nights because:

1) The cops screwed up and
2) Instead of admitting they screwed up and thanking you for not shooting them, they lied and charged you with a crime at the cost of said thousands of dollars and lost sleep

RugerGirl;151046 Wrote:Since the cops held their fire, I don't think he should sue.....but the charges were correctly dropped.

You'd maybe feel differently if you were the one out of pocket for thousands and thousands of dollars to pay for a lawyer, had a bunch of time off work (or lost a job), and dozens, if not hundreds of sleepless nights because:

1) The cops screwed up and
2) Instead of admitting they screwed up and thanking you for not shooting them, they lied and charged you with a crime at the cost of said thousands of dollars and lost sleep